Andreas Pereira (R) celebrates with Jesse Lingard (LW). (Getty Images)
According to The Sun, Man United and England star, Jesse Lingard is in line for a new contract at Old Trafford, with reports claiming that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has identified the 26-year-old as someone who could be integral to his plans next season.
Lingard has two years remaining on his current deal at Old Trafford but the Red Devils are keen to secure the Englishman’s long-term future, with The Sun claiming that United have a £130,000-a-week new deal in the pipeline for him.
Lingard is not the only player in line for a new deal at Old Trafford, though, with another report from The Sun suggesting that highly-rated academy product Andreas Pereira is also closing in on a new three-year contract.
United triggered a 12-month extension in Pereira’s contract back in March to extend his stay until 2020 but Solskjaer is reportedly impressed by his development and the Norwegian wants to secure his long-term future as well. The Sun reports that the 23-year-old Brazilian is expected to pen a new deal at Old Trafford which should keep him at the club until 2023.
Both Lingard and Pereira made their competitive debut for United back in the 2014-15 season under former manager Louis van Gaal and the duo has endured a journey pretty much down the similar path.
While Lingard had loan stints at Derby County and Brighton in the Championship prior to making an impact in the first-team at Old Trafford, Pereira had a couple of fruitful loan spells at Granada and Valencia in the La Liga before enjoying a breakthrough season at United under Solskjaer the last term.
Lingard established himself as one of the most important players under Solskjaer since the Norwegian took over the reins from Jose Mourinho back in December last year. The 26-year-old made a total of 36 appearances in all competitions for United this past season, contributing with 5 goals and 4 assists, and while those numbers are not eye-watering by any means, the Englishman proved himself to be a tailor-made fit for the manager’s quick passing easy-on-the-eye counter-attacking style.
Pereira, on the other hand, only played a bit-part role in the first-team this season but Solskjaer showed a lot of confidence in his abilities and fielded him in some really important and high-octane fixtures, including in the Champions League triumph over PSG.
The 23-year-old made a total of 23 appearances in all competitions and accumulated a goal and an assist, scoring an absolute stunner from outside the box in United’s 3-2 victory over Southampton.
To put things into perspective, both Pereira and Lingard gained a lot of importance under the new manager towards the end of this past season and it is not difficult to understand why United are keen to secure their long-term futures.
The Red Devils are set for a massive squad overhaul this summer and Solskjaer is expected to splash the cash to bring in a number of new faces at Old Trafford in a bid to add more depth and quality to his squad ahead of the upcoming season but United should also prioritise keeping hold of some of their existing players.
United have already confirmed the departures of Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera, whilst The Sun claims that they are closing in on a £15 million deal for Welsh winger Daniel James. The Red Devils have already lost some of their long-standing players, and with the likes of Juan Mata, Mateo Darmian, Marcos Rojo and a few others also expected to head for the exit door, losing promising players like Pereira and Lingard in the years to come could spell disaster for the club.
Man United need to build a strong core of young players under Solskjaer and both Lingard and Pereira add a lot to the squad in terms of versatility and depth. Besides being perfectly suited to the manager’s style of play, both the players are capable of playing virtually anywhere across the midfield and forward line, and they are pretty much set to enter their prime years.
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Keeping that in mind, depth in the ranks is absolutely vital if United are to put together a formidable unit and challenge for silverware on all fronts, meaning that it should be a no-brainer for the Red Devils to keep hold of two of the most talented players to have graduated from their youth academy in recent times.